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If we are honest with ourselves, we take our access to water for granted and we expect this water to be safe for our daily use. Not so for too many in the marginalized parts of the world. One area of great need is in the mountainous area of Oaxaca Mexico.

Pescadores de Hombres is a community development civil association that takes a wholistic approach to meeting the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of indiginous communities. As a Christian organization we believe that sharing the love of Christ changes lives. Drilling water wells for those with little resources also changes lives. We do both.

A local Mixec pastor friend is drilling wells in the city of Tlaxiaco, Silacayoapan, Tierra Azul and in the surrounding area in the state of Oaxaca. In Tierra Azul, during my last visit, I helped drill a well at an orphanage just outside the city of Tlaxiaco. We encountered several unique challenges with drilling at this site as the nearby river with the unground veins of water running to it caused our borehole to collapse not just once but twice. After not being able to repair the damaged boreholes we then moved to high ground and finished a successful water well which is producing sufficient water for the orphanage/farm. These are some pictures of the process of drilling with our small rig in the beautiful setting of this farm land.
My friend Dan and I will again return to Oaxaca this March to help support the on-going work and do some maintenance on the equipment. In our short stay in this city where we started this work 10 years ago we hope to visit with friends that my wife and I met when we live in Tlaxiaco for over 4 years. We are excited that the work continues on with the local people and it is our hope that they catch the vision to reach out to the surrounding villages to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Water well for future children’s school and home:

Pescadores de Hombres is committed in helping Eliseo see his vision come true. With help from the people that partner with us we can drill a water well to provide one of the key resources they will need for the children at his proposed orphanage and christian school.

Ten years ago my wife and I were led to the mountainous regions of Oaxaca Mexico. She is a registered nurse and I have extensive experience in the construction trade. We left family and home to answer the call of “Go and make disciples in every nation”. My wife oversaw medical outreaches with teams of doctors, nurses, and volunteers in villages that have few medical services available to them. These usually drew hundreds of people that walked many miles to get some help with their health problems. We lived in a traditional home in a “colonia” and made many friends with our neighbors who were always coureous of what the gringos were doing. We lived across the street from a school so it was hard to keep a low profile.

Besides helping with the medical clinics and helping neighbors pick corn, I wanted to do more for community development. Frustrated with attempting to dig well with hand augers and bailers, I built a small trailer well drilling rig. There were a few years of learning the process of drilling deep wells initially but we have dug wells for a local orphanage, a pastor’s home, a cluster of neighborhoods with no running water, and have done other projects. It has been our intent to help provide water to those who need it, but also to allow people to develop better living skills and be more self sustaining. Water is a major key in developing countries to grow their own food, to improve their sanitation and improve their way of life.

We also know that water isn’t the only thing that is needed to live a better life and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ is all part of the vision to reach people with the love of God. We are encouraged by the network of partners that are helping to bring transformation in the on going work in this region of Mexico.